Love Bites: Betrayal
by ByeByeBye
Summary: Vampires rule the city of Domino. But when the king of the vampires go missing, a civil war starts that could distroy both vampires and humans, forcing both groups to work together to save their home. BEING REWRITTEN
1. The Lost Pharaoh

A/N – First thing I should say is that I've never read Ann Rice or watched Buffy and Angel. I do however love all the old Dracula movies and just saw Van Helsing which gave me the idea to do this fic. What I'm trying to say my knowledge on vampires beyond those Dracula movies are extremely limited so most of the vampire stuff in this story is completely made up by me. Do not leave reviews or email me informing me that I've screwed something up when it concerns the vampire parts. This is my own view on things and I am not going to copy stuff that other people have come up with. So please don't flame me stating things like "There are no way vampires can survive in the sun!" or stuff like that because yes in the original movie Dracula can survive in the sun but he's just not as powerful (even the 92 version of the film keeps this intact) and I want most of my vampires to be that powerful.

* * *

"Honda, I don't really care if Otogi canceled on you because of work," the pretty short haired brunette said as she and her friend Honda walked to their apartment that they shared. The pair was best friends along with their other roommate Jounouchi but he was out of town at the moment visiting his sister Shizuka.  
  
"But it was our three week anniversary, Anzu!" Honda cried and Anzu mentally rolled her eyes. She knew that Honda had liked his boyfriend, Otogi, for years but only recently did he have enough guts to ask him out. Since then he was always paranoid that Otogi would break up with him at any moment. Secretly Anzu thought if Honda didn't start chilling out Otogi would dump him anyway.  
  
"Honda! He has to work!" Anzu yelled at him. Mentally she wondered how many times she had to tell Honda that she didn't care that Otogi had to cancel their dinner plans that night because of work. Sure it sucked for Honda, but to her that met she wouldn't have to listen to the noises of them having sex all night. She needed her beauty sleep!  
  
"But I even got Night Passes!"  
  
That bit of information surprised Anzu. The area they lived in was controlled by vampires and only with Night Passes was it safe for a human to be out past sunset. This was because although there was a law that vampires could not kill a human unless there was a shortage of blood at a blood bank, a few vampires did not follow the law, as there was no punishment. To kill a human with a pass however was instant death if caught. Night Passes however was a rare thing to come by as so many humans wanted them. The only one with a permanent pass was Mokuba Kaiba, the current CEO of the Kaiba Corporation. Mokuba had gained control of the multi-billion dollar company after his elder brother was killed two years ago. Since then the child had continued his brother's dream by building Kaibaland all around the world.  
  
"We could go out," Anzu casually suggested. It had been far to long since she had been able to safely go out at night. "Dinner and a movie maybe? My treat?"  
  
"I guess," Honda muttered.  
  
"I mean it would be a waste not to use the passes," Anzu continued. "I hear you can find those suckers going for a couple of hundred American dollars on Ebay."  
  
"I could sell them then," Honda mused. "That would be a lot of yen. I bet I could get Otogi a really great present."  
  
"NO!" Anzu practically cried. "Honda, I swear if you don't take me out tonight you can find yourself a new place to live Mr. I Have Yet To Pay The Last Two Months Rent. Even Jounouchi can pay his rent on time!"  
  
"Only because he has a sweat job at Kaiba Corporation!" Honda protested. Before Seto Kaiba had died, he and Jounouchi had briefly dated and Seto had given Jou a comfy job, who had practically been homeless at the time.  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Anzu protested. "If you're that dispirit for money get Otogi to give you a job! Now you will take me out tonight or not only will you be homeless but I'll tell Otogi all of your little secrets!"  
  
"Fine!" Honda sighed giving in. In the back of his mind he thought that he should have known better then to try and fight with a woman. Secretly Honda expected that a lone female human could take on ten male vampires and win since women were deadly.  
  
"Good," Anzu replied giving Honda a triumphant smile. "Now lets hurry home and get those passes before it gets dark!" With that she hurried off, leaving Honda to run after her to try and catch up.

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba sighed as he stared down at the grave before him. The grave belonged to his brother, Seto, and he missed him terribly. As the landscape grew dark around him, Mokuba knew that he was safe. Mere hours before Seto had been killed he had given Mokuba his lifetime Night Pass. Mokuba had always wondered where Seto had gotten it but he never had the chance to ask for an hour later Seto had been killed in a robbery.  
  
"I miss you ni-sama," Mokuba whispered into the night as he began to cry.

* * *

A pair of piercing blue eyes watched as the young Kaiba brother sobbed over the grave of Seto Kaiba. The owner of the eyes wished that he could do something to comfort the young boy but he made the decision long ago not to interfere in again Mokuba's life. The last thing that Seto Kaiba wanted was his brother to know was that he was one of the very creatures that many feared on a daily basis.  
  
"Seto!" a soft voice whispered throughout the air and Seto rolled his eyes from where he was crouched in a tree while watching his brother. But other then that he did not move. "Seto this is important!" the voice whispered again.  
  
Knowing that his moment of peace was over Seto hopped down from the tree and landed gracefully in front of a young and beautiful Egyptian woman. "What do you want Isis?" Seto softly replied, as Mokuba was still nearby and Seto did not want his brother to over hear them, but there was also harshness to his voice. "You know that I do not wish to be disturbed when it comes to Mokuba!"  
  
"I realize that, but this is important," Isis calmly said. "The Pharaoh has gone missing!"  
  
"Impossible!" Seto scoffed. "Atemu rules this land, he does not just go missing."  
  
"Well it's happened! Mahado, Bakura and Marik are out looking for clues right now. Yugi is naturally a mess and last I saw, Mana was trying to comfort him."  
  
"How could have this have happened?!" Seto demanded as he began to pace. Fortunately Mokuba had already wandered off so they no longer had to worry about him seeing them. "Are you sure he's missing? Because no one is dumb enough to try and do anything to him!"  
  
"Perhaps Zork is back?" Isis suggested. "He is one of the few of us who is powerful enough to defeat Atemu."  
  
Zork was a powerful vampire who once before had almost taken control of the land until he was defeated by the Pharaoh Atemu, the most powerful and feared vampire in the world. Zork vowed revenge before he was trapped away by the Pharaoh so it was possible that he was back.  
  
"Only an extremely powerful vampire could break his seal," Seto replied while rapidly thinking. "But just in case, make sure someone is always watching Bakura. We don't want to take any chances."  
  
"I agree, that is why Marik is with him," Isis informed the other vampire. Bakura had been Zork's right hand man before Zork had ordered him to kill another vampire called Ryou. Unfortunately for Zork, Bakura had fallen instantly in love with Ryou and switched sides. But because of his past, they were unable to completely trust Bakura, so he was often under the watchful eye of Marik, although the two often caused more mischief then good. Marik however also happened to be Isis' brother-in-law, so he was a good choice to watch Bakura.  
  
"Good," Seto nodded. With one last look around the graveyard to make sure it was clear, he jumped and flew up into the air with Isis close behind him

* * *

"See isn't this fun!" Anzu cheerfully cried as she grabbed hold of Honda's arm. The pair had just finished their dinner at a restaurant and was currently walking along a pier need to the beach as they wasted time before their movie would be starting.  
  
"Yeah you were right," Honda reluctantly agreed. He was having fun with his friend but he also knew that he would have been having more fun with Otogi. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye thanks to the full moon, Honda spotted something floating in the ocean near the edge where the water met the sand.. "Hey what's that?" he asked Anzu pointing to the shape laying there.  
  
"I think it's a body!" Anzu cried and a split second later they were both jumping off the pier and rushing forward to see if they were right or if they could help. Reaching the unmoving shape, they quickly discovered that it was indeed a body.  
  
"I got him!" Honda yelled as the water splashed around his legs while he picked up the small thin body and carried it to shore.  
  
"It's Yugi!" Anzu whispered "But impossible! He died three months ago!"  
  
"It's not Yugi," Honda quickly told her. "Check it out, this guy's older."  
  
"Is he breathing?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Honda replied. As he bent down to start giving the young man CPR, red eyes flashed opened and looked up at both of them.  
  
"Who are you?" the young man asked as he looked at them in confusion.  
  
"I'm Honda and she's Anzu," Honda told him. "What's your name?"  
  
The young man stared at them blankly for a few minutes before turning his head away in shame. "I don't know," he admitted. "Everything is so foggy right now."  
  
"Why don't we call you Yami for now?" Anzu suggested.  
  
"Why Yami?" Honda asked her.  
  
"Because you have to admit he does look a lot like Yugi but like you said he's older and different. He's like a dark version of Yugi. So we should call him Yami Yugi and just Yami for short."  
  
"Anzu! He's not a pet! We just can't give him any name we feel like!" Honda protested.  
  
"It's alright with me," the young man replied before looking away thoughtfully. The name Yugi had sounded familiar to him but he couldn't place where he knew it.  
  
"See!" Anzu beamed triumphantly at Honda. "So Yami do you at least have a Night Pass on you?"  
  
"Night Pass?" Yami asked and Anzu held up her small plastic card to show it to him.  
  
"Don't you even remember that?" she asked. "Vampires rule this city and every city nearby. At night all humans have to have a Night Pass or a vampire could kill them."  
  
Yami searched all his pockets on his leather pants, and black trench coat but he came up with nothing. "We better get him home," Honda said to Anzu who quickly nodded her head.  
  
"Come with us," she told Yami and helped the young man to his feet. "Our other roommate is away right now so you can stay in his room for a few days until he gets back. Jou won't mind one bit."  
  
"Thank you," Yami softly said as he walked between his new friends back to their apartment.

* * *

"There is still no sign of the Pharaoh," a tanned vampire with bushy white hair and pale blue eyes, under his right eye was three scars crossing each other, reported as he walked into the main chamber of vampire palace where the Pharaoh and his most trusted friends, advisors and employees lived. Another tanned vampire followed him, but this one had spiky pale blonde hair and violet eyes. Both vampires were dressed all in black leather and both were wearing black trench coats.  
  
"Keep looking Bakura!" snapped an elderly vampire, known as Akunadin, who stood near the end of the room next to the throne where Atemu normally sat.  
  
"We have been looking!" argued the blonde haired vampire baring his fangs. "We've been looking all over Domino for him while Mahado has traveled off to nearby places to look."  
  
"I wasn't talking to you Marik," Akunadin growled. "I was speaking to Bakura since he has the best chance of knowing where the Pharaoh is."  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?!" Bakura yelled. "I've been nothing but loyal to Atemu!"  
  
"Oh really?" Akunadin asked in amusement. "I seem to remember a time when you wanted nothing to do except kill the Pharaoh."  
  
"That was then, this is now!"  
  
"You've spent 3000 years trying to kill the Pharaoh and only two on his side, surely you must still feel a little hatred towards the Pharaoh."  
  
"That's enough Akunadin!" a new voice yelled as Seto strolled into the room with Isis close behind him. "We have enough to worry about. We don't need to start turning on each other as well!"  
  
"Tell that to Akunadin," Bakura muttered before turning and storming out of the room. Marik was about to follow his friend when Seto called out to him.  
  
"Marik I want a word with you," Seto said and Marik paused his footsteps.  
  
"I know what this is about," Marik coolly replied. "And if you think I will spy of my best friend you are gravely mistaken."  
  
"Fine, but just make sure he doesn't do something stupid," Seto growled.  
  
"There are no guarantees on that either," Marik replied before following his friend.  
  
"I will speak to Malik about this," Isis quietly informed Seto once Marik was gone. "If anyone can convince Marik to do something he doesn't want to it's him."  
  
"No," Seto quickly replied. "Right now we both need to be out looking for Atemu right now. If word got out that the Pharaoh is missing there will be all kinds of vampires trying to take his place."  
  
"You could assume the role as Pharaoh," Akunadin causally suggested. "You are as old and as powerful as the Pharaoh. The others will follow your leadership."  
  
"I don't even want to be here!" Seto spat before storming off to get something to eat. Like Atemu, the Ishtars and some others who lived at the palace, Seto had been born as a vampire over 3000 years ago. For years he faithfully served Atemu until one day he woke up and had enough. He immediately left the palace he had called home for a number of years since they moved their operations from Egypt to Japan. From there he found himself wandering around the streets of Domino until his hunger brought him to the Domino Hospital. While there he met a young woman who had just given birth to her son.  
  
The woman was dying when Seto found her and she begged him to take care of her son. Changing his appearance into that of a young boy, Seto claimed that the woman was also his mother when the hospital staff found him. He also altered the woman's husband's mind into thinking he was his son. For five years Seto cared for Mokuba while their father worked until he too was killed in a car crash.  
  
By that point Seto was going to take Mokuba back to the vampire palace and raise him there but before he could do that the pair was shipped off to an orphanage, where they stayed there until Seto tricked the millionaire owner of Kaiba Corporation to adopt them. After years of their stepfather mistreating them Seto finally killed him making it look like a random vampire attack. Unfortunately Mokuba developed a fear of vampires from the incident so Seto no longer dared to reveal his true identity to his brother.  
  
Seto therefore took control of the Kaiba Corporation and built it into a powerful gaming company until two years ago when Zork returned. Akunadin blackmailed Seto into returning, threatening to turn Mokuba if he would not return willingly. So Seto faked his death and returned to the vampire world rejoining Atemu as one of his right hand man. Seto hated himself for what he did to Mokuba, knowing that he should have stayed with his younger brother. With 3000 years of being alive, with various relationships with both men and women, Mokuba was the only person that Seto ever truly loved.

* * *

"Made it," Anzu sighed in relief as she unlocked the door to her apartment and the three of them walked inside. "Jou's room is that one," she informed Yami pointing to a closed door. "I don't know how tired you are but we did fish you out of the ocean. Bathroom is over there if you want to freshen up and I could cook you something if you're hungry."  
  
"Never eat anything Anzu cooks," Honda quickly whispered to Yami while Anzu walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Umm . . . okay," Yami replied uncertainly. "Something to eat does sound good though after a shower."  
  
"Go on ahead then," Honda replied. "There are towels in there and I'll get out some of Jou's old clothes that should fit you. I'll also try and keep Anzu from cooking anything."  
  
"Thank you," Yami replied as he walked into the bathroom and started pealing off his clothes. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist when he heard a knocking at the door.  
  
"This is the best I could find," Honda said sticking his head in the door and handing Yami a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "If you give me your other clothes I'll make sure they get clean and we can get you more things your size tomorrow."  
  
"Thank you," Yami repeated as he took the clothes and handed Honda his own black leather jeans, black sleeveless t-shirt and black trench coat.  
  
"No problem buddy," Honda replied before disappearing, leaving Yami alone for his shower. Yami had a brief hot shower before dressing in the clothes Honda had gave him and walked barefoot into the kitchen where Anzu was fixing him a sandwich.  
  
"Almost ready," Anzu said looking up from what she had been doing which was cutting the sandwich in half with a large knife to give Yami a smile. Unfortunately for Anzu the distraction caused her to slice open her finger with the knife spilling blood all over the table. As Anzu cried in pain, Honda dragged her off to the bathroom for first aid, leaving Yami alone in the kitchen.  
  
Yami stared at the blood with a hungry look in his eyes. With a quick glance around he saw that Anzu and Honda was still busy so he quickly licked up the blood and licked his lips in satisfaction. He then munched down the sandwich but to his disappointment no blood had landed on it.  
  
"Sorry about that," Honda said as he walked back into the kitchen while Anzu plopped down on the couch in the living room. "Hey! Did you clean up the blood?"  
  
"Yes," Yami softly replied. Although he greatly enjoyed the blood something inside him told him that drinking blood was not normal.  
  
"You didn't have to do that," Honda scoffed. "You're our guest here!"  
  
"It's alright," Yami quietly told him. "I am tired though and would like some sleep."  
  
"Go ahead then," Honda replied. "We'll see you in the morning after a good night's sleep."  
  
"Thank you," Yami said one last before retreating to the room he would be staying in.  
  
"So what do you think of him?" Anzu asked as Honda joined her on the couch for some late night TV.  
  
"Kinda quiet," Honda admitted. "But he seems nice. Extremely polite."  
  
"Well we did drag him out of the ocean and he can't remember a thing," Anzu reminded him. "I would be quiet too if something like that happened to me. It's weird how he looks so much like Yugi though."  
  
"I know," Honda sighed. Yugi had been Jou's best friend but he had also been friends with them. He was a sweet, short kid who always saw the best in people, but tragically three months ago he went missing one evening and was never seen again. It was expected that he didn't get home in time before night came and was killed since he didn't have a Night Pass. His body had never been found however so it was still hard to handle for his friends since at least then they would have had closure on the issue. "But we have to remember he's not Yugi."  
  
"I know," Anzu replied and it was her turn to sigh. "He used to have the most crazy crush on me. But I always blew him off saying I just wanted to be friends. It would have so made his day if I only went out with him once on a date."  
  
"Try not to think about it Anzu," Honda replied. "You had no way of knowing what was going to happen."  
  
"Maybe I can still make it up to him," Anzu thoughtfully replied as she stared at Jou's closed door.

* * *

Malik Ishtar hummed a happy tune as he tried on a new pair of red leather pants. "Do I look good in these?" he asked his companion who was laying on his bed. When it came to matters of clothes Malik really wished vampires had reflections.  
  
"You look amazing," Marik hungrily replied as he stared at his wife. The pair were currently in their own room in the palace.  
  
"Amazing enough for you to tell me what happened between Bakura and Akunadin a few hours ago in the main chamber?" Malik asked as he flopped down on the bed next to Marik.  
  
"Nothing happened," Marik smoothly lied and Malik gave him a dirty look.  
  
"Not only am I your wife but I also created you," Malik reminded the bigger vampire. "I know when you're lying." Although Malik was born a vampire, Marik was not. Malik accidentally turned him into a vampire when he was the equivalent of a ten-year-old human child. Since then they had become inseparable lovers and they married each other 1837 years ago.  
  
"He thinks Bakura plotted the entire thing with Atemu missing," Marik admitted with a sigh.  
  
"Bakura would never do that," Malik scoffed. "Ryou is completely loyal to Atemu so betraying the Pharaoh would mean giving Ryou up."  
  
"Fortunately a lot of us know that," Marik replied. "But still, if there was an uprising things could go bad around here."  
  
"Then we won't let that happen," Malik firmly replied before a smile appeared on his face. "Now come on, lets go out and have a night on the town. You never know we just might happen to bump into Atemu."  
  
"As you wish master," Marik replied with a smile of his own. He then stood up before helping Malik to his feet. The pair then walked hand and hand until they reached the outside of the palace before flying off into the night sky looking for some fun and excitement.

* * *

"Atemu!" the small Pharaoh look-a-like cried as he sobbed into the chest of the young tanned and brunette girl on the bed with him. The look-a-like was Yugi and the girl Mana.  
  
Yugi was discovered almost half dead by the Pharaoh almost three months ago. Atemu had taken the young one back to his home and cared for him for two days until it was discovered that Yugi would not survive from his injuries. Not bearing to give up the person who had captured his heart, Atemu turned him into a vampire and they had been lovers ever since. Mana on the other hand like many of those around the Pharaoh had been born a vampire and had grown up with the young prince. Atemu had always been like an older brother to her so it was natural she would grow close to Yugi in such a short amount of time.  
  
"I'm sure he's alright," Mana reassured Yugi, who for once in her life was not hyper and perky. "Zork couldn't kill him and no normal vampire could harm him either."  
  
"Then what happened to him?!" Yugi wailed.  
  
"I'm not sure," Mana sadly admitted. "But we'll keep searching until he's found."  
  
"I miss him Mana."  
  
"I know Yugi, I miss him too," Mana admitted. "But we'll find him. Trust me."  
  
"Soon I hope."  
  
"Look why don't you try and get some sleep?" Mana suggested. "You'll be able to think better after a good rest and help us look."  
  
"But I can't go out in daylight yet," Yugi reminded her. Although humans did not know it most vampires could survive out in sunlight. Sunlight was only harmful to weaker vampires or to those who had been newly turned. During the day humans could not even tell the difference between vampire and human since they looked so much alike and the fact that vampires only needed blood at certain times to survive. Most vampires, except those who lived in the palace, lived similar lives to humans except for the fact they had nothing to fear from being caught out after dark as any vampire could tell the difference between a human and another vampire.  
  
"Well you can stay here and think of places Ouji-sama might be," Mana said trying again. "Then at dusk you can come out with us."  
  
"Alright," Yugi grumbled before closing his large, round purple eyes. "Will you stay with me? I don't think I can sleep without someone next to me."  
  
"Of course," Mana gently replied before closing her eyes as well.

* * *

Review! BTW, Ouji-sama means Young Prince. It's what Mana calls Atemu in the anime instead of calling him Pharaoh like she's suppose too. 


	2. More Dangers

A/N - yaminakathy, Maruken, lucidscreamer, cwthewolf - thank you all for reviewing. I get really nervous when I always first put up a new story because I'm so worried how people will like it. So thank you.

lucidscreamer - I actually spelled it 'alright' on purpose because it was being used in dialogue and when said in informal speech the two words usually get shoved together to sound like one word, which is what I wanted in most cases but looking back at the chapter I realized that there were cases where 'all right' should have been used instead of 'alright'. But because you mentioned it I decided to change it in other chapters to 'all right' since I want you to enjoy the story and not be bothered by spelling errors even if they are on purpose.

* * *

"Good morning!" Anzu cheerfully said to Yami as soon as he emerged from Jou's room. If possible Yami looked even more tired in the bright sunlight then he did last night. "Did you sleep all right?"  
  
"Yes," Yami politely replied. "Although I am still tired."  
  
"Go back to bed then," Honda suggested as he joined them in the kitchen. "Anzu has to get to work and I have to run to the store but you might as well stay here and sleep."  
  
"Are you sure?" Yami asked. "You barely know me yet you're letting me stay here?"  
  
"Sure, humans have to stick together you know with all those vampires running around," Anzu replied while shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"Thank you," Yami said before disappearing back into the bedroom he was using.  
  
"Well I'm off!" Anzu said to Honda before disappearing out the door to head off to her job at a clothing store downtown Domino.

* * *

Malik Ishtar slipped off his sunglasses as he strolled into the clothing store where he worked. Malik of course did not have to work since he had an unlimited amount of money supply. But he liked the employees discount he got from working there and he found it extremely amusing to listen to his co-workers horrific vampire stories. He imagined that they would all die from shock if they found out that he was vampire.  
  
"Hello everybody!" Malik cheerfully called to the other employees as he walked into the store.  
  
"Bite me Malik," a woman with long blonde hair replied. She was Mai, the owner of the store.  
  
"Any time," Malik said with a toothy grin. His fangs were retracted so he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them.  
  
"Freak," Mai muttered before turning away to arrange some clothing. A few minutes later the last employee entered.  
  
"Sorry I'm late," Anzu panted. "But you wouldn't believe what happened to me last night!"  
  
"You had Night Passes?!" Mai asked, giving up what she was doing and walking over to the shorter girl.  
  
"Yeah, I got them from my roommate Honda. Remember him?" Anzu said and Mai quickly nodded her head. "Well we were walking along the pier when we saw something in the water. We pulled it out and it was this guy!" This suddenly sparked Malik's interest in Anzu's story. "Poor thing was practically dead and he can't remember a thing. He's at home right now resting and I may bring him by tomorrow to get some clothes."  
  
"Fine, just remember that this is a business and I don't do charity cases," Mai reminded Anzu before returning to her work.  
  
"What a bitch," Anzu muttered under her breath to Malik. "Yami could really use some help right now."  
  
"Aww . . . come on Anzu! You and her would look cute together!" Malik cheerfully replied.  
  
"I don't think so. Why don't you go out with her?" Anzu snapped back.  
  
"I'm married!" Malik reminded her causing Anzu to break out into a large smile.  
  
"Ahh, yes! The mysterious Marik," she said. "You need to bring him by some time so you can introduce him to us."  
  
"Maybe," Malik quietly replied before wandering away. Marik had a lust for blood and couldn't always be trusted around humans especially ones he did not know. And since Marik was a personal friend of Atemu, Marik could always get around all the laws about not killing humans.

* * *

Jou slipped his key into the lock on his apartment door and quickly walked inside as soon as the door was unlocked. "I'm home!" he playfully called wondering if Honda was there or not. For the past few days Jou had been in a nearby city visiting his sister after waiting almost a year to be granted a Traveling Pass. Traveling Passes worked the same as Night Passes except you needed one to leave the city just in case you planned to now come back. The vampires could afford to lose their human supply so they used the passes to regulate who was allowed to leave and who was not. Traveling Passes were much harder to come by then Night Passes and chances were if you did not return from your planned trip a vampire would be sent out to kill you.  
  
Jou tossed his jacket onto a nearby chair before continuing his way to his room so he could unpack his suitcase. Upon pushing open the door however he got a surprise of a lifetime when he found a stranger in his bed.  
  
"Hey, who are you?!" Jou yelled waking the stranger up, who quickly sat up. To Jou's surprise, the stranger looked almost like his deceased best friend Yugi.  
  
"I'm sorry," Yami quickly replied as he blinked and rubbed his eyes. "You must be Jou. Honda and Anzu said you wouldn't mind that I stayed here last night."  
  
"I guess it's okay," Jou grumbled. "Who are you anyway?"  
  
"I don't remember," Yami sadly replied. "But your friends have been calling me Yami."  
  
"So you remember, like, nothing?" Jou asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Yami shook his head before turning away embarrassed. Suddenly Honda's voice called out throughout the apartment.  
  
"Jou? Where are you?" I know you're back!"  
  
"In here talking to Yami!" Jou called back and a moment later Honda appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Good, you met," he quickly said. "I think I'll go unpack the groceries. Feel like eating yet?" he asked Yami who shook his head.  
  
"Honda, we need to talk," Jou said before standing up and dragging Honda out of his room until they were far enough away in the kitchen to talk without being overheard. "What the hell are you doing?! Bringing a complete stranger and here and letting him stay in my room?! He could be a criminal or something!"  
  
"Relax!" Honda calmly replied. "We couldn't just leave him on the beach at night with all kinds of vampires running around. Besides he doesn't remember a thing!"  
  
"So he says!"  
  
"Maybe he's related to Yugi," Honda said trying to get his friend to reason with Yami's situation. "How would Yugi like it if we refused to help a relative of his? You know Yugi was all about friendship and helping others. Come to think of it, you used to be the same way."  
  
"I've changed!"  
  
"And not for the better!"  
  
"Fine, he can stay a few days but I want my room back!" Jou snapped before walking over to where he had left his coat and picked it back up. "I'm going to visit Mokie for a while. That kid spends far too much time alone."  
  
"See you later," Honda replied and Jou walked out the front door just as Yami walked out of Jou's bedroom.  
  
"Maybe I should go," Yami quietly said. "You said those vampires only come out at night right? I could find a hotel or something."  
  
"And how would you pay for it with no money?" Honda asked in amusement. "Don't worry about Jou, he's been really tense since Yugi died. And I don't think it helps that you look just like Yug. He'll come around though."  
  
Once again Yami could swear that the name Yugi sounded familiar to him but he didn't know where to place it. That night however Yami had a dream of someone who looked like him except he was shorter and had round purple eyes. Yami wondered if that could be Yugi but he decided to keep the information to himself for the time being.  
  
"Want something to eat?" Honda asked as he continued to talk while Yami had been lost in his thoughts. "We have plenty of food around here or I could order something."  
  
"Something raw would be nice," Yami admitted.  
  
"No problem," Honda replied as he set about getting Yami something to eat.

* * *

The white haired vampire walked towards the stone tablet that encased the presence of Zork, the evilest vampire that ever lived. The only one with the power to defeat him was his creator, the Pharaoh Atemu.  
  
"Soon my lord," the vampire whispered as he reached out with a keen hand and stroked the tablet. "With Atemu dead, you will rise again as soon as the three sacrifices are made."  
  
With that, the vampire turned and walked away so he could prepare for the first of the three sacrifices. "Tonight the three sacrifices will be make and Zork will rise again," he stated to no one as he walked through the dark corridors back to the vampire palace.

* * *

"How is he?" a young white-haired vampire named Ryou whispered to Mana as he peaked into the room where Yugi was still fast asleep. Ryou had actually been looking for his lover, Bakura, when he decided to check in on Yugi.  
  
"Not very good," Mana admitted. "I worry about his health. Ouji needs to be found soon."  
  
"I know," Ryou replied with a sigh. "Hey have you seen Bakura?"  
  
"He looked in on Yugi about an hour ago before going off somewhere with Marik," Mana informed the young vampire. Compared to the other vampires at the palace, Ryou was extremely young, only about three years old. Hours after he had been turned, he had shown up at the palace, lost, confused and completely unaware what was happening to him. Atemu had taken pity on him and gave him a place to stay as well as teach him about his new vampirism life, a job that should have been done by the person who turned Ryou, but according to Ryou, another vampire had killed him moments later.  
  
"Thanks," Ryou said giving her a small smile before wandering away to once again seek his lover. He found him a few minutes later in the kitchen area biting into a raw steak and ripping a large chunk off it.  
  
"That's disgusting!" Ryou cried walking over to his lover.  
  
"No different then biting into a human," Bakura replied with a shrug and a smile before ripping off another chunk.  
  
"It's called table manners," Ryou dryly replied. "We vampires do have them."  
  
"Fine," Bakura said as he put down his steak. "I'd much rather drink the blood of a human anyway."  
  
"Not for another eight hours," Ryou informed him. "You know the rules."  
  
"Stupid rules," Bakura grumbled and Ryou walked over and hugged him.  
  
"We can go hunting together tonight," he suggested as he rubbed his stomach. "I need a fresh feeding soon. I'm not getting enough minerals from the frozen stuff."  
  
"Perfect," Bakura purred before getting a thoughtful look on his face, which was scary for him. "You don't hunt enough. We need human blood to survive, which is why the laws are in effect."  
  
"It's still so hard," Ryou quietly admitted. "Those people, they could be my friends."  
  
"Some friend," Bakura scoffed. "You were bullied ever since you moved to Domino and the night you were turned they beat you to a bloody pulp. You could have died if you hadn't been turned when you did!"  
  
"I know, I know," Ryou replied with a sigh. "Can we please change the subject?" he pleaded giving Bakura puppy eyes. Bakura was always a sucker for the puppy eyes.  
  
"Yeah, lets go try to find the idiot pharaoh," Bakura sighed. "I'm beginning to think we'll never find him."  
  
"Don't talk that way," Ryou begged and Bakura hugged him.  
  
"Don't worry, nothing can kill that idiot," Bakura replied reassuringly as he continued to hug his love. "Now lets join the search party for a few hours before coming back here for a nap until nightfall. Then we'll go back out to look again and to hunt."  
  
"Okay," Ryou sniffed and the two vampires began walking through the palace to the nearest exit.

* * *

"What a boring day," Malik grumbled as he rested his elbows on the register counter. They had only had a couple of customers so far that day and the last one had been a half hour ago.  
  
"Get back to work!" Mai snapped as she walked by with a pile of clothes in her arms and Malik stuck out his tongue at her retreating back.  
  
"How many more hours?" Anzu moaned as she walked over to Malik so they could chat.  
  
"Too many," Malik replied with a sigh as the door opened and a young woman with pale skin and long blue hair entered the shop. Malik narrowed his eyes when he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he harshly asked her. Never before had another vampire entered the place where he worked.  
  
"Seto-sama sent me to find you," the women replied. She was Kisara, a loyal servant of Seto's who had been with him since almost the beginning. She had been the first person that Seto turned. "He wants to know-"  
  
"I have to work," Malik quickly replied, interrupting the girl, as he knew what Seto wanted. "Seto knows this."  
  
"Yes, but with what's happened-"  
  
"I will see Seto as soon as I finish work," Malik said, interrupting her again. With a slight bow, Kisara turned and left the shop.  
  
"What was that all about?" Anzu asked.  
  
"I friend died last night," Malik smoothly lied. "Vampire got him."  
  
"That's horrible!"  
  
"That's life," Malik replied with a shrug just as Mai walked by again.  
  
"Look you two, in case you've forgotten this business is my sole financial means," she told them with an annoyed voice. "I pay both of you to work and make me more money. But you don't make me money by standing there talking!"  
  
"We're really sorry Mai," Anzu replied. "But it's not our fault that no one is in the store."  
  
"Just be glad I put up with you two's attitude because a lot of employers wouldn't," Mai muttered before wandering away once again.  
  
"Still think we would be good together?" Anzu asked Malik who started to laugh.  
  
"You bet!"

* * *

Seto sighed in frustration as Kisara reported back to him about Malik. He needed ever vampire possible out looking right now since they still had no clue where Atemu had gone and he was beginning to fear the worst. He couldn't blame Malik though in trying to continue on with his normal life though as he too was once again watching Mokuba as the young Kaiba brother strolled through an empty park.  
  
"Hello Mokuba," a voice suddenly said and Seto growled and bared his teeth. Looking around it didn't take Seto long to notice Siegfried, a German businessman with a company similar to Kaiba Corporation. Siegfried also happened to be a vampire.  
  
"Hello," Mokuba nervously replied. "What are you doing in Domino Siegfried? This isn't a very safe City you know."  
  
"I'll take my chances," Siegfried said with a smirk and he opened his mouth to allow his fangs to grow. He then began to advance upon Mokuba.  
  
Mokuba began to slowly back away in fear as the long pink haired vampire approached him. He couldn't believe it. Siegfried was a vampire and he was out in daylight. Everything that Mokuba had heard about vampires said they couldn't survive in the sun.  
  
As Siegfried closer reached him, Mokuba saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and suddenly Siegfried was pulled away from him and tosses on the ground. Towering about the vampire a person dressed all in black except for a white sleeveless trench coat.  
  
"You know he is off limits," the newcomer spat and Mokuba couldn't believe his ears. It was Seto.  
  
"You're supposed to be off looking for the Pharaoh!" Siegfried hissed.  
  
"I am," Seto growled as he bent down, grabbed the front of Siegfried's business jacket and lifted him up so that his feet were an inch off the ground. "And now you have ten seconds to get out of here because I want to avoid killing you in front of my brother. But if you choose not to get out of here, I'll kill you anyway." With that Seto threw Siegfried back to the ground who quickly scurried off.  
  
"Seto?" Mokuba timidly asked taking a step closer to his brother. "Is it really you?"  
  
"It is," Seto admitted turning around so he could face Mokuba.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried running forward and Seto kneed down so they could hug. "But you're supposed to be dead!"  
  
"It takes a lot to kill me," Seto whispered as he hugged his brother tightly. "I didn't want to leave but I had too."  
  
"Why?" Mokuba asked as tears started falling from his eyes. "Why did you leave me?!"  
  
"Because I'm a vampire," Seto admitted looking away. "And two years ago there was a war going on between vampires. I was threatened into returning. They would have taken you if I had not returned to my own kind."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mokuba sniffed.  
  
"Because I knew how much you hated and feared vampires," Seto explained. "Many times I wanted to take you back to the palace and raise you there but I knew you'd be scared."  
  
"Are you even my brother?"  
  
"By birth, no," Seto sadly replied. "I met your mother right after you were born and she made me promise that I would take care and protect you. I used my powers to turn into the boy you knew so I would be able to fulfill my duties. I badly wanted to live a normal life until the war happened but the war was 3000 years in the making so they badly needed my help."  
  
"Seto, don't leave again," Mokuba begged as he tightly clutched his older brother.  
  
"I have to."  
  
"No!" Mokuba protested. "You said before you were going to take me with you. Do it now!"  
  
Seto thought it over. Mokuba could easily run Kaiba Corp from the palace and he would be able to keep him safe from the other vampires that lived there. "Alright," he agreed with a nod of his head and he stood up. "We should go there now though since most who live there will be either sleeping or out so it'll be a good time to get you settled in."  
  
"Thank you!" Mokuba cried as he ran off after his brother. It didn't take long for the pair to reach the vampire palace where Seto lived and Mokuba was amazed at the place. "Whoa, I didn't realize you lived here! Isn't this supposed to be where the leader of the vampire lives?"  
  
"Atemu," Seto replied as he led Mokuba inside. "He allows his friends to stay here. We are like an extended family."  
  
"Hurry up Marik!" a woman's angry voice yelled out startling Mokuba. A few moments later a female and male vampire walked into his view and he quickly hid behind Seto.  
  
"You finally came back," the women said.  
  
"Yes," Seto replied. "Even I need some sleep every so often."  
  
"And he brought someone with him," the one who Mokuba assumed was Marik said with a lick of his lips as he leaned down to get a good look at the raven haired lad. "A snack for later?"  
  
"That is my brother!" Seto snapped. "He is not for eating or for turning! He will however be staying with us from now on so if you or anyone else has a problem with it they can report to me!"  
  
"Fine, fine," Marik replied backing away to stand by the women once again. "I'll find someone else to snack on while Isis and I are out looking for Atemu."  
  
"It's hard to believe you were human once," the women muttered and Marik threw her a grin.  
  
"Remind me to treat your brother extra special tonight," he said as the pair walked off.  
  
"That was Isis and Marik," Seto explained to Mokuba. "They're in-laws. Marik is married to her brother Malik, who also turned Marik in what I think was the only accidental turning in our history."  
  
"How can you turn someone accidental?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"When Malik was ten he decided to run away from home when his father wouldn't allow him to go on a hunt. After a few hours he ran into Marik. Malik tried attacking him but Marik fought back. In the end both of their blood was spilled so they called a truce. Marik then started licking at what he thought was a wound on his arm but it turned out to be Malik's blood. It was just enough to turn Marik. After that Malik returned home with Marik in tow. His father was outrage and threw them both out. Fortunately Malik's older sister Isis had already been working for Atemu so he took the two of them in."  
  
"And what about you?" Mokuba asked. "How were you turned?"  
  
"I wasn't. I was born a vampire," Seto explained. "My father served the former pharaoh, Atemu's father. He died when I was only a few years old so I never knew him. Most of us who live here originally came from Egypt where we lived for thousand of years but were forced to abandoned because of Zork. The exceptions are Ryou and Yugi. Both were only turned recently. Yugi was only turned three months ago."  
  
"Yugi?" Mokuba asked. "That name sounds familiar."  
  
"He was friends with Jounouchi," Seto replied. "We met him a couple of times when Jou and I were dating."  
  
"Right," Mokuba replied with a nod. "I thought he died."  
  
"He almost did. Would have died if Atemu hadn't found him."  
  
"Small world," Mokuba thoughtfully mused.  
  
"Yeah considering Ryou and Yugi were classmates," Seto replied when Kisara suddenly entered the room. "Mokuba this is Kisara, Kisara, my brother Mokuba. He'll be living with us from now on."  
  
"It's a pleasure," Kisara said to the younger Kaiba brother before turning her attention to Seto. "There is still no fuller information."  
  
"What's going on?" Mokuba asked as Seto sighed.  
  
"The Pharaoh, Atemu, went missing last night," Seto explained. "If word got out there will be chaos. Vampires from all over will be after his power. That is why it's so important we find him."  
  
"What if he's dead?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Then Seto-sama will have to take over as Pharaoh," Kisara replied. "He is the only person with the power and respect to be Pharaoh."  
  
"You know full well that Akunadin can be Pharaoh," Seto scoffed. "Besides, Atemu is alive!"  
  
"Of course," Kisara gently replied before giving her master a slight bow and exiting the room.  
  
"Seto, are you sure it's okay that I stay here?" Mokuba asked. "No one is going to kill me in my sleep are they?"  
  
"They wouldn't dare," Seto replied with a small smile. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Yugi and Mana." Seto led Mokuba down a series of corridors until they reached Yami's room. With a rapid knock to the door, Seto pushed open the door to find Yugi once again awake and clutching to Mana on the bed.  
  
"Have you found him yet?" Yugi asked Seto with tears in his eyes. "Not yet. I just came by to introduce Mokuba. He was attacked this afternoon by a vampire and I want him close by from now on."  
  
"Hello," Mana said to him before turning his attention to Seto. "Why would a vampire break the rules though? We've been so careful about the information regarding Ouji-sama. No one should know that he is missing yet."  
  
"You're right," Seto said thinking back to his conversation with Siegfried. He hadn't realized it then but Siegfried should not have known that Atemu was missing. "Mana, take care of Mokuba. I have work to do," Seto quickly ordered before storming out of the room.  
  
"What was that all about?" Mokuba asked and Mana shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Don't worry about Seto," Mana told him. "He knows how to take care of himself." 


	3. Attack on Malik

"Back so soon?" Honda asked as Jou walked into their apartment. Both Honda and Yami were sitting on the couch watching TV.  
  
"Mokuba wasn't home," Jou informed them with a frown as he sat down in a chair. "And he wasn't at his office either. He's been doing this a lot since Seto died. It's not wise to disappear without telling anyone, especially where we live."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Honda replied. "Mokuba has a Night Pass. No vampire would dare to touch him."  
  
"Yeah I guess," Jou grumbled.  
  
"I'm bored," Honda suddenly announced. "Do either of you want to go for a walk?"  
  
"Why not?" Yami replied while Jou merely shrugged his shoulders. Therefore the three of them stood up and quickly exited the apartment building.

* * *

"Yay for quitting time!" Anzu happily cried as she and Malik exited the store together leaving Mai to finish locking up.  
  
"Just quit if you hate it so much," Malik told her as they walked together down the street.  
  
"Yeah well there isn't exactly a great job market out there right now," Anzu replied with a sigh, not noticing cloaked individuals had started to follow them. Fortunately for them Malik noticed right away.  
  
"Keep walking don't look behind you," he whispered to her. "Also get ready to run if you have too but make sure that you stick close to me."  
  
"What?" Anzu whispered back. "What's going on?"  
  
"Vampires are following us."  
  
"Vampires?! But how?! Its still light out!"  
  
"Don't be fooled by stupid stories," Malik hissed. "Only weaker or newly turned vampires need to fear the sun. The rest can function normally but prefer the dark because they've been in hiding for so long."  
  
"What are we going to do?" Anzu asked, starting to panic.  
  
"Just remember what I said," Malik told her as he took a quick glance over his shoulder and saw that the group of five vampires was getting closer. "Okay, now we run!" he cried as he grabbed Anzu hand and started running down the street while the vampires gave chase.  
  
The pair ran down the street and ducked down an ally but the vampires were slowly gaining on them. "It's no use!" Anzu cried.  
  
"Go!" Malik ordered her. "I'll hold them off!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"I'll be fine! Just go!"  
  
With one last glance back at Malik, Anzu took off running. She didn't get far when she literally bumped into to Yami who caught her in his arms before she could fall to the ground.  
  
"Anzu! What's wrong!" Jou cried.  
  
"Vampires!" She cried. "They came out of nowhere and started chasing us! Malik helped me escaped but now he's trying to fight them all by himself!"  
  
"Show us!" Yami demanded suddenly coming to life. Anzu quickly took off leading them all back to where she had left her co-worker.

* * *

"What's the meaning of this?!" Malik demanded as the five other vampires surrounded him. "Do you know who I am?!"  
  
"We know all too well," one of the entirely cloaked gang, said. Because of their cloaks Malik had no way in identifying them. "Our master gave us specific instructions that you need to be captured so the sacrifice can take place. Only then may the great lord be released from his sleep."  
  
"Zork!" Malik spat knowing immediately who the great lord they spoke of was. "I'm not going to go easily!"  
  
Malik lunged at the vampire to the left of him and grabbed him by the front of his cloak; Malik then threw him over his head towards another vampire and the pair collided together. Unfortunately the first vampire gracefully landed on his feet instead of falling to the ground and the second was quickly back on his feet after a few moments.  
  
Another two vampires lunged at him trying to trap him in between them, but Malik quickly ducked causing the two vampires to hit each other. Their heads crashed together knocking them both into unconsciousness. Malik then spun back around, ready for another attack when he felt a piercing pain from his chest. Looking down, Malik was horrified to find a sword sticking through his chest.  
  
"We want you alive, not unharmed," one of the three remaining vampires laughed as he removed his sword from Malik's chest. Malik then slumped forward as he struggled to stay on his feet.

* * *

"There he is!" Anzu cried pointing towards Malik and the vampires. They watched in horror as the sword plunged through Malik's chest before it was pulled back out again.  
  
"Stay here!" Yami ordered as he sprinted forward and jumped onto the back of the vampire who had the sword. Before he realized what he was doing he ripped the hood off the vampire and quickly bit into the newly exposed neck.  
  
"Amelda!" Another one of the vampires yelled as the one called Amelda dropped to the ground, dead, with Yami still on top of him. Yami then stood and turned his hungry/angry glaze to the other two vampires.  
  
"Kill him!" the second of the vampires yelled and the first one lunged at Yami with a punch but Yami caught his fist and drove a swift kick to his gut. Then with all his might, Yami lifted the vampire up by his wrist and threw him into the nearby brick wall.  
  
"I'll enjoy killing you," the last of the vampires hissed as he drew his own sword from the inside of his cloak. The vampire then charged at Yami who stood motionless until the tip of the vampire's sword almost touched his chest. Yami sidestepped the vampire, sticking his foot out in the process. The vampire then helplessly fell over Yami's foot and stumbled to the ground. Before the vampire could regain his footing, Yami was upon him, successfully wrestling the sword away. Yami then raised the sword and beheaded the fallen vampire before rushing over to Malik's side who was now kneeing on the pavement.  
  
"Atemu," Malik whispered before slumping over into Yami's arms unconscious.  
  
"That was amazing!" Honda cried as he, Jou and Anzu came running over to them.  
  
"Is Malik alright?" Anzu asked and Yami nodded his head.  
  
"Yes. We should take him back to the apartment though."  
  
"He needs a hospital!" Honda replied.  
  
"There's no time!" Jou argued. "It's alright getting dark yet. We could never make the nearest hospital by nightfall!"  
  
"What about them?" Anzu asked motioning towards the three unconscious vampires. "What should we do about them?"  
  
"Leave them," Yami commanded as he lifted Malik up into his arms. "We have more important things to worry about."  
  
"Yeah," Jou agreed. "Hopefully before they wake up another vampire will come along and find out that they were hunting before dark."  
  
The four of them then hurried off while Yami carried Malik.

* * *

"This is not good," Isis said as she paced back and forth in the main chamber of the palace. "Seto has now gone missing as well."  
  
"Are you sure?" Akunadin asked, while the other vampires in the room, Marik, Ryou, Bakura and Mahado looked at him. To them it seemed as if Akunadin wasn't concerned at all.  
  
"Yes, he has not been seen since this afternoon," Isis replied. She left out the fact that the last time he had been was when he returned to the palace with Mokuba but for some reason she found herself not trusting Akunadin with that news. Akunadin would be the angriest of them to learn that a human was now living with them.  
  
"I want people out searching for him now!" Akunadin snapped before walking off.  
  
"What an idiot," Bakura muttered as soon as the elder vampire was gone. "Why does Atemu keep him around anyway?"  
  
"Because he's the only one left that served his father," Mahado replied. "Atemu feels as if he has to keep Akunadin around to repay him for his serves."  
  
"Has anyone seen Malik?" Marik suddenly asked worriedly. "He should have been back by now."  
  
"Oh no," Isis replied while exchanging a worried look with Mahado. "Both Seto and Malik are missing and the Pharaoh is gone as well. This is worst then we thought."  
  
"Why? What do you mean?" Bakura demanded.  
  
"Zork couldn't be killed so he was sealed away," Mahado explained. "And to strengthen the seal to make sure it could never be broken, the Pharaoh selected three vampires to go through a blood ritual. That way the only way the seal could be broken is if the three vampires are sacrificed. Seto and Malik are two of the three vampires needed."  
  
"What?!" Marik demanded. "Why wasn't I informed of this! Malik's my wife and he could be in danger!"  
  
"It was Malik's choice," Isis quickly replied. "He didn't want to worry you. Only myself, Mahado and Mana know the truth."  
  
"So who's the other vampire?" Bakura asked. "They're going to need protection."  
  
"I am," Ryou softly replied and everyone else took a large step backwards away from Bakura.  
  
"What?! But you were only a year old at the time!" Bakura yelled. "Where is that Pharaoh! I'm going to kill him myself with my bare hands!"  
  
"I was the least obvious person," Ryou told his lover trying to calm the white-haired vampire down. "Atemu didn't force me to do it. He asked and I agreed."  
  
"You should have never have done that!" Bakura yelled as he continued to rant. "Do you realize you could now be killed because some maniac is trying to release Zork!"  
  
"You'll just have to protect me," Ryou said giving Bakura a smile.  
  
"Of course I will," he scoffed. "Don't even think you're going to leave my side ever again!"  
  
"I'm going to go look for Malik," Marik announced since Bakura was finished with his outrage. "Maybe he figured we were still out looking for Atemu so he didn't bother to come back."  
  
"I'll go with you," Isis offered. "I'm not going to sit here knowing there could be someone out there who wants my brother dead."

* * *

Seto jumped from rooftop to rooftop searching for any sign of Siegfried. So far he was not having any luck however.  
  
"Where are you hiding?" Seto muttered to himself as the last rays of sun slipped behind the earth covering the land once again in darkness. Seto's search just got a lot easier now that there were other vampires out that he could ask where Siegfried was.

* * *

"Put him in my room," Honda offered as soon as they reached their apartment and Yami did what he was told. Yami didn't know what it was but he felt as if he knew the young blonde. He was also extremely curious what it was that the blonde said before he passed out, since he seemed to recognize Yami. Was Atemu a name, a place or something completely else in a different language? Yami chose to keep the information to himself for the time being since he was confused over what happened earlier when he fought the vampires. He was acting on instinct but he knew that no ordinary human could take out three vampires the way he did.  
  
"He doesn't look too good," Anzu said bringing Yami back out of his thoughts. She took a look at his wound and was amazed to see it had started to heal up. "What the-" she gasped.  
  
"He's a vampire!" Jou snarled and Honda ran to get a butchers knife from the kitchen. "We need to quickly kill it!"  
  
"But he's my friend!" Anzu protested as Honda returned.  
  
"Anzu is right," Honda sighed in defeat. "Besides, what if other vampires found out and become pissed with us? If we save him then we might be rewarded!"  
  
"Give me that," Yami commanded and Honda handed him the knife. Acting on instinct Yami took the knife and slit his palm with it. He then his placed his palm up against Malik's mouth. To his relief, even while unconscious, Malik slowly began lapping up the blood.  
  
"How did you know how to do that?" Anzu asked in shock as she stared at Malik lap at the blood. "How did you defeat those vampires?"  
  
"I don't know," Yami admitted as he continued to watch Malik. When it looked like Malik was finished, Yami pulled his hand away and wrapped it up in a cloth that Anzu had gotten to use on Malik to soak up his blood until she discovered that the wound had already healed. "He's resting," Yami announced as Malik's breathing evened out.  
  
"Look! We deserve some answers!" Jou yelled at him. "Who are you?! Are you one of them?!"  
  
"I don't know," Yami replied with a shake of his head. "I don't have teeth like him and sunlight doesn't effect me."  
  
"Malik told me right before we started running that vampires being effected by sun was only a myth for the most part," Anzu explained. "He said only newly turned or weak vampires had to worry about the sun. Also I've seen Malik's teeth and I know for a fact he doesn't have fangs."  
  
"He does now," Yami said and he opened Malik's mouth up just enough so that they could get a look.  
  
"Lets get a look at your teeth," Jou demanded and Yami opened his mouth and Anzu gasped when she saw his fangs. Judging by their reactions Yami knew what they had seen and hung his head in shame. The group then fell into silence as they became lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

"His trail goes that way," Marik announced pointing down the street as Isis and Marik stood in front of the now closed store where Malik worked. Vampires had an incredible sense of smell and could track another vampire but their ability only went so far in that they couldn't distinguish between vampires. Marik however had the rare ability to know Malik's scent from another vampire so tracing him would not be a problem.  
  
"Do you smell that?" Isis asked as they followed Malik's trail.  
  
"Yes, he was being followed by other vampires."  
  
"Five of them," Isis confirmed becoming worried. Her brother was a great fighter but not good enough to take on five vampires. Only someone like Marik, Bakura, Seto, Mahado and Atemu could take that many vampires without help.  
  
"That way," Marik said pointing to an alleyway and the pair continued on their way.  
  
"Another was here," Isis said picking up a seventh vampire scent.  
  
"Yes," Marik replied. "But this one is different. It's familiar somehow."  
  
"I know," Isis agreed as she took in the scene of the splattered blood all around the area. "There was a battle, but no bodies. The survivors must have carried the dead off with them or else we would have heard about it."  
  
"Malik and the newcomer head that way," Marik said nodding his head. "The others went off in a different direction."  
  
Marik and Isis followed the trail that Marik was sniffing out and eventually they reached an apartment building. "He's somewhere in there," Marik said as he stared up at the building trying to determine what apartment his wife was in. "I got him!" Marik cried as he pointed to an apartment on the third floor.  
  
"Can you tell his condition?" Isis asked.  
  
"Unconscious," Marik replied as he flew up to the balcony of the apartment with Isis right behind him. Fortunately for the two vampires the sliding door to the balcony was open so Marik and Isis were able to walk right inside.

* * *

"Someone's here," Yami told the others breaking the silence in the room. "I can sense it." Hearing this, Honda stuck his head out the door and saw the two vampires in his living room. Unfortunately for Honda they also saw him, who quickly slammed the door to his bedroom.  
  
"Two vampires!" he yelled and Jou rushed forward to try and help him hold the door. Their attempts were useless however as the vampires easily knocked down the door and stalked inside the room.  
  
"Leave us alone!" Yami yelled as he jumped to his feet. To everyone's surprised the vampires stared at him in shock before bowing slightly.  
  
"My lord!" the female vampire said, sounding relieved. "We were beginning to fear the worst!"  
  
"Malik!" the other vampire cried upon seeing Malik sprawled out on the bed. He rushed over and sat on the bed, clasping one of Malik's hands. "What happened to him?" he then demanded giving a glare to the three humans.  
  
"We were attacked," Anzu quietly explained. "Malik tried fighting them but was losing until Yami showed up. Will he be okay?"  
  
"My brother will be fine," the female vampire reassured them all. Anzu however was surprised to learn that the vampire was Malik's sister. "He was lucky to have Atemu show up when he did," she added before turning her attention to Yami. "Atemu, where have you been? We were so worried. We've been searching for you non-stop since you disappeared last night!"  
  
"My name is Atemu?" Yami asked them and the two vampires shared a worried look. "I can't remember anything," he explained.  
  
"Nothing my lord?" the female asked and Yami shook his head. "Well then, yes, your name is Atemu. My name is Isis. The one worried sick is Marik and our companion is Malik. Malik and I are siblings and Marik is Malik's husband. Malik and I were both born as vampires 3000 years ago just like you."  
  
"You all look so young!" Honda replied in amazement.  
  
"When vampires reach a certain age they stop aging," Isis explained. "For vampires like Marik who have been turned, they stay the age they were turned at. That is why we have rules about only turning people after a certain age. Children are never turned and we try to stay away from turning older people, but there are some exceptions."  
  
"That's why that old fart Akunadin is so ancient," Marik grumbled as he scooped Malik up in his arms. "We better finish this conversation at home though. Those other vampires could track down your trail here so it may not be safe."  
  
"What about my friends?!" Yami demanded. "If they stay here those vampires will kill them if they show up!"  
  
"Look! Just because Seto brought a human in doesn't mean I'm going to let any old human into my home especially ones that you've only known a day when you were not well!" Marik yelled and Isis laid a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him down.  
  
"Even though he does not remember we must still obey his commands," she whispered to him. "We owe these humans for helping both Atemu and Malik."  
  
"Fine!" Marik spat before giving the three humans a glare. "Pray to your god that your rooms are no where near mine. I've been known to sleepwalk so who knows what could happen to you."  
  
"Marik stop it!" Isis yelled at her brother-in-law before turning to Anzu. "May I borrow your phone? It'll be easier and safer if we fly to the palace but Atemu and I can not carry all three of you since Malik needs to be carried as well in his state."  
  
"Umm . . . sure," Anzu nervously replied before leading Isis back out into the living room. "I'm Anzu, by the way. My friends are Jou and Honda."  
  
"Thank you for what you've done," Isis replied before picking up the phone and dialing the number for the palace. Vampires were in fact telepathic but it used up a lot of their power so they decided to install the palace with all kinds of the latest technology. "They will be arriving shortly," Isis said hanging up the phone just as Yami, Honda, Jou and Marik who was still carrying Malik entered the room. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Who is it?" Isis cautiously called.  
  
"Mahado and Otogi," a familiar voice called back and Isis swiftly walked over to the door to unlock it and let them in.  
  
"Atemu!" Mahado and Otogi both cried upon seeing the Pharaoh.  
  
"We're glad you're safe!" Mahado added before Honda noticed one of the vampires and recognized him.  
  
"Otogi!"  
  
"Honda!" the black-haired vampire cried upon seeing his boyfriend. "Umm . . . hi! . . . Surprise!"  
  
"This just keeps on getting weirder and weirder," Anzu said as she followed the vampires and the others out to the balcony. To her surprise Isis wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.  
  
"Just stay calm and there will be nothing to worry about," Isis told her. Glancing around Anzu saw that Jou and Honda were being held in a similar matter and she did notice that Honda refused to be touched by Otogi so he was with Mahado. She also noticed that Yami was looking nervous.  
  
"My lord is something wrong?" Mahado asked him.  
  
"He lost his memory," Isis explained. "Perhaps he doesn't remember how to fly?"  
  
"No, I know how to do that," Yami replied with a shake of his head. "I don't know how I know but I know. Why do you all treat me with such respect?"  
  
"He really does remember nothing!" Otogi said in surprise.  
  
"We'll tell you when we get back home," Isis replied before flying off being followed closely by Marik. Yami then took off after them with Mahado and Otogi bringing up the rear. The vampires flew through the night until they reached the palace and gently touched down in front of it.  
  
"That was so cool!" Honda cried and even Jou looked excited and a lot like his old self. Anzu however was frozen stiff from the fear she had from the flight.  
  
Without a word the vampires strolled into the palace and the three humans as well as Yami closely followed them. "We're heading to where the sleeping chambers are," Isis informed them. "Malik needs some rest."  
  
Marik led the way and kicked opened the door to his and Malik's room when they got to it. He then placed Malik on the bed before sitting in a nearby chair. "Leave," he commanded and the others did what they were told. They left the room and started walking down the hall again, however they didn't get very far however when a young female vampire came walking towards them.  
  
"Ouji!" she cried when she saw Yami as she ran forward and jumped into Yami's arms. "You're back!"  
  
"Mana!" Mahado sighed as he pealed Mana off of Yami, but he had a smile on his face. He didn't blame Mana for being excited to see Atemu again and knowing that he was all right.  
  
"I'll be right back!" Mana cried before taking off down the hall where she had just come from.  
  
"Yugi!" Mana cried bursting into his and Atemu's room.  
  
"What's wrong? I thought you were going to get something to eat from the kitchen?" Yugi asked sitting up in the bed as Mana bounced onto the bed and grabbed his wrist so that she could pull him out of it.  
  
"Come on!" she cried as she successfully dragged him out of the bed. "Come see!"  
  
"Mana!" Yugi yelled as stumbled trying to keep up with her as she dragged him out of the room and down the hall where he could make out a small group of vampires were waiting. Yugi immediately recognized who one of the vampires was.  
  
"Atemu!" he yelled as he broke out into a run.

* * *

Yami and the three humans looked around at the interior of the palace. While the humans were in complete awe of the place that was almost like an Egyptian palace except with modern conveniences, Yami was positive he could remember some of the things he saw. Suddenly someone yelled his name and looked down the hall to see a miniature version of himself running towards him. "Yugi," Yami whispered as he caught the younger vampire in a hug. Yami could feel Yugi's tears against his chest and he too started crying.  
  
"Yugi!" he heard Jou gasp from somewhere behind him but he didn't bother to look. All he cared about was his Yugi being back in his arms. He slowly started to remember things like keeping a watchful eye over Yugi when he was ill and holding the young vampire tightly in his arms at night.  
  
"Yugi," he whispered again as he slightly pulled away so he could look at Yugi's face. He also began to gently kiss away Yugi's tears.  
  
"I was so worried!" Yugi sobbed. "Where were you?! What happened?!"  
  
"I don't know," Yami admitted. "I don't remember a lot. But I remember you."  
  
"Yugi what are you doing here?!" Jou cried and Yugi finally noticed his friends.  
  
"Hey guys," Yugi said as he whipped away his tears and pressed tightly against Yami. "I live here. Atemu saved my life and I've been living here since then. I can't go out in daylight yet so that's why I haven't visited."  
  
"You're a vampire?" Anzu asked and Yugi nodded his head.  
  
"Yeah," he replied with a small laugh. "My wounds were too deadly for a human so the only way Atemu could save my life was if he turned me."  
  
"Why the hell would you want to be a vampire?" Jou asked him and all the vampires, except for Yugi, shot him a dirty look.  
  
"Immortality for one!" a new voice rang out around the palace and from down the hall strolled Bakura with Ryou close behind him. "There is also the ability to have the strength of a hundred men, the power to fly and be feared by pitiful humans."  
  
"We're glad to have you back Atemu," Ryou said. "It has not been the same without you around here."  
  
"Ahh yes! The great Pharaoh returns!" Bakura added with a grin on his face. "Pity, since I was about to make a move to be the new Pharaoh. Pharaoh Bakura has a nice ring to it don't you think?"  
  
"Pharaoh?" Yami asked looking at them all with a confused look on his face and Bakura's grin faded away.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Don't you know who you are?" Yami shook his head and wrapped his arms once again around Yugi out of fear.  
  
"Great," Bakura muttered as he began to pace back and forth in the hallway. "We have Seto missing, a Pharaoh who doesn't know he's Pharaoh and four humans stinking up our home. By the way, I'm still pissed at you for what you did for Ryou but he's managed to talk me out of killing you for the meantime." The truth was that although Bakura was still mad at Atemu he was glad that the Pharaoh was all right.  
  
"Uhh . . . there's only three of us," Honda timidly replied.  
  
"Hi guys!" Yet another voice called out and the group turned to find Mokuba walking towards them licking an ice cream cone with Kisara following him close behind him. "It's so cool here! Is Seto back yet?"  
  
"Mokuba!" Jou cried, ready to faint if he didn't fear that the other vampires would try to attack him as soon as he was unconscious. "You're a vampire too?!"  
  
"Of course not!" Mokuba scoffed. "Mana and Kisara have told me all about vampires and I'm too young to be turned yet. Seto is a vampire though. It's a long story. I'm living here now to be near Seto but he took off sometime this afternoon and hasn't been back since."  
  
"Yes we should probably send out a search party for him," Isis suggested. "With way things have been recently I don't think anyone should be going off my themselves."  
  
"I'm taking Atemu back to our room," Yugi announced as he took Yami's hand and started dragging him down the hall towards their bedroom. "Maybe he can remember more if after a good night's sleep."  
  
"I thought you guys were most active at night and slept during the day," Honda said and he received a glare from Bakura for his trouble.  
  
"The first thing you need to know about vampires is not to believe all the myths," he growled.  
  
"Bakura these are guests of the Pharaoh," Mahado told the white haired vampire. "It would be wise to hold back your temper." Bakura gave a small snort for his reply before crossing his arms in front of his chest and following silent.  
  
"Vampires sleep at any time of the day," Isis informed the humans. "Typically we sleep no more then four hours at one time. Sometimes only an hour or two."  
  
"Why the wacky hours?" Anzu asked. "Isn't it easier to get your sleep all at once?"  
  
"Survival," Mahado replied. "In the old days people would hunt us when we were asleep as they knew that was the only time they could kill us. That is why we started sleeping less at one time and having completely random times when we sleep. Rarely will a vampire sleep at the same time day after day."  
  
"Why don't you just give away all our secrets?" Bakura asked in an annoyed voice and the other vampires shot him a stern look. "Fine! I'm out of here!" Bakura said getting the hint. He then dragged Ryou off by the arm.  
  
"Mokuba it is time for bed," Kisara told the youngster.  
  
"Do I have to?" Mokuba whined.  
  
"Yes, you are a human and need your rest."  
  
"But I want to wait for ni-sama!"  
  
"I will wake you when Seto-sama returns," Kisara replied before leading Mokuba back to his room.  
  
"You three should also be getting some sleep," Isis said to the other three humans. "Follow me, your rooms are this way."

* * *

_Latias gang - thanks. Don't worry, I'll be updating a lot._

_Destiny - Honestly I haven't decided yet if Pegasus is going to be one of the villians. He's used a lot in stories so I may not use him unless I run out of guys._

_Kitty Neko - Don't worry I update as soon as possible. These chapters are a lot longer then my other stories so it takes longer to update sometimes._

_Maruken - Thanks for your review. I found that a lot of people it seems don't like Kisara so it's hard finding her a role sometimes. I agree with you that Marik's always been bloodthirsty and insane. lol._

_yaminkathy - Thank you very much! I've been trying really hard to improve my writting skills with this story._


	4. Traitor Unmasked

"Morons," the vampire with long green hair coolly said as he strolled into the room. He was Dartz. Against one of the walls was a healing tank. Inside the tank floated a red haired vampire. "Will he survive?"  
  
"Yes," a vampire with short blonde hair named Raphael replied. "We were able to get him back here in time. Amelda should be fully healed in 24 hours. Keith however was not so lucky."  
  
"Who did this?" Dartz demanded.  
  
"Atemu," a tall blonde haired woman hissed.  
  
"Someone didn't do their job," Dartz calmly murmured as the large doors to the room opened once again and in walked Siegfried.  
  
"I see my healing tank has some good use after all," the pink haired vampire said with a smirk on his face. Siegfried and Dartz didn't care much for each other but they knew they had to work together to complete their goal. "What's wrong? Did your five goons have trouble capturing one vampire? And doesn't Ishtar work for one of 'elite' vampire squad?"  
  
"Shut up!" the blonde woman told him. "It's hard enough to keep my true identity safe. Besides Kaiba's pet came by in the afternoon, we couldn't risk there being more of the Pharaoh's friends around. We would have had Malik easily if he didn't have some help!"  
  
"Expect the unexpected," Siegfried replied with a triumphant smile on his face.  
  
"If that's the case where is Seto Kaiba?" Dartz asked with an amused look on his face. "I do believe it was you who said that you'll take care of him."  
  
"I'm not stupid enough to go one on one against Seto," Siegfried told him while frowning. "As soon as I find his stupid little adopted brother, I'll get Seto easily."  
  
"Really?" Dartz asked with amusement. "Because I heard from our insider, Mokuba Kaiba is currently at Atemu's palace. I suggest you find another way to capture Kaiba."  
  
"I'll find a way," Siegfried said determinedly.  
  
"Alas that task will have to wait," Dartz replied. "It seems that the vampire who helped the dear Malik Ishtar was Pharaoh Atemu."  
  
"Impossible, we were both there," Siegfried scoffed with a shake of his head. "We shot, stabbed him, tied him up in chains and then dumped him off the pier. Vampires are immortal, not invincible."  
  
"I saw him with my own eyes," the fourth male vampire in the room said, speaking up for the first time. He was Varon. "Raphael and Mai had already been knocked out by Ishtar. He came out of nowhere and bit Amelda almost killing him. We though he was dead until Raphael picked him up and discovered he was barely breathing. He then knocked me out by throwing me against the wall. I doubt Keith lasted long after that."  
  
"So you admit you were knocked out?" Siegfried asked and Varon nodded his head. "There you go. You received a concussion and imagined it was Atemu. It could have even been the little starfish that the Pharaoh likes so much."  
  
"You are more foolish then I thought if you're not going to take this news seriously," Dartz told him.  
  
"Do not try to boss me around like you do those fools," Siegfried hissed while pointing to Varon, Raphael, Mai and Amelda in the healing tank. "You and I are equal partners in this, remember?"  
  
"And you should remember that I've lived for thousands of years longer then you," Dartz calmly replied. "We need to contact the Dark Priest and have a meeting to discuss this new development."  
  
"Fine," Siegfried reluctantly replied. "But right now I have to take care of Seto."  
  
"This is more important then Kaiba," Dartz argued. "If Atemu is indeed alive it will throw everything we've worked for in jeopardy. Don't waste this opportunity to act because of some person vendetta against Kaiba."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do," Siegfried replied before storming off.

* * *

"Stupid humans," Bakura grumbled as busied himself in the kitchen with Ryou like always at his side. Bakura's other problem was that it was night and he wanted to go hunting but he knew that something could more easily happen to Ryou outside the palace. Therefore he had to make do with the food that they had in the kitchen.  
  
"They're not normal humans," Ryou gently told him. "They're Atemu's friends. We owe them one for saving not only Atemu but Malik as well."  
  
"Why can't we turn them then?" Bakura asked. "That would be fine."  
  
"Not everyone wants to be a vampire," Ryou softly replied.  
  
"Of course they do!" Bakura scoffed. "Humans live in fear! Why wouldn't they want to join us if they could?"  
  
"I didn't," Ryou replied, his voice so soft it was barely a whisper. Bakura heard him anyway because of his advance hearing.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Bakura demanded. Ryou never did give anyone details in what happened to him when he was turned, except the vampire who turned him was killed shortly afterwards.  
  
"Remember how I told you I was bullied all the time?" Ryou asked and Bakura nodded his head. "Well one of the bullies was a vampire and one day he purposely had the beatings go on after dark so he attack me. Right after he bit me he told me that I would make a good pet for him, which was why he was granting me an immortal life so that I would always be able to serve him. While he was turning me, I managed to pull a knife out from his pocket and stab him through his heart, killing him. It was too late for me though; I could already feel myself changing. I wandered around for hours until I finally found Atemu's palace. He took me in and the rest is history."  
  
"Why wouldn't you want to join us?" Bakura asked shocked over his lover's story.  
  
"I don't necessary rank killing people for food on the list of things I like to do," Ryou explained. "I was depressed for a long time, until I met you in fact. I started to live again after we met and now I'm happy. The point I was trying to make is that not everyone is like you or Marik who loved becoming a vampire so you could spill all the blood you wanted."  
  
"I see your point," Bakura replied with a small sigh. "I never thought of it that way before. All I remember from when I was a human was being determined I wasn't going to be a victim of my circumstances. Did you know that my entire village was slaughtered and that I was the only survivor?" he asked and Ryou shock his head. "Well it was and all under the order of Atemu's father who was Pharaoh of Egypt at the time. I vowed revenge and 15 years later I met Zork who turned me into what I am." Bakura didn't have to say anymore. They both knew the rest of his story. 3000 years later Zork had Bakura start murdering allies of Atemu and eventually was ordered to kill Ryou. Although Bakura had a number of sex slaves to choose from at Zork's castle, he had found himself oddly attracted to Ryou. Soon after he had turned his back on Zork and his help and the return of Seto was what was needed to change the course of the war and allowed Atemu to achieve victory.  
  
"Lets turn in for the night," Ryou suddenly suggested and Bakura gave him an odd look.  
  
"Why? I'm not tired."  
  
"I didn't say anything about sleeping," Ryou pointed out to him and Bakura got a huge grin upon his face. Bakura then grabbed Ryou's hand and started dragging him off to their room.

* * *

Malik slowly opened his eyes and found himself in his own room at the vampire palace. Wondering what happened, he soon found Marik fast asleep in a chair next to the bed. With a shaky hand, Malik reached out and took Marik's hand in his own.  
  
Marik's eyes snapped open as soon as he felt contact with his skin. With a small tug, Malik ended up pulling Marik onto the bed with him and they snuggled down on it together.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Marik asked as he cuddled Malik's body close to his own.  
  
"Tired," Malik sleepily murmured.  
  
"Stay awake, you lost a lot of blood," Marik softly commanded, rolling over and leaning off the bed so he could reach the small refrigerator in their room. Opening the fridge, Marik pulled out a medium sized container full of blood. Picking up a goblet next to the bed, Marik filled the goblet with blood before handing it to Malik who greedily drank it all down.  
  
"Now how do you feel?" Marik asked as he refilled the goblet, which Malik immediately started drinking from again, but this time at a much slower rate.  
  
"Better," Malik admitted as the blood warmed him up and filled him with energy. "What happened? I remember trying to take on these other vampires but they outnumbered me. Then I could have sworn that Atemu saved me."  
  
"That's exactly what happened," Marik replied and Malik broke out into a huge grin.  
  
"Atemu's alive?! That's great! Where was he hiding the whole time?"  
  
"Easy Malik you're still recovering from a nasty wound," Marik told him. "The idiot Pharaoh lost his memories and was hanging out with some humans. Isis was here a little while ago after she took care of those humans and said that he started getting back some of his memories when around Yugi but I doubt that it's a whole lot right now."  
  
"I should see him and thank him," Malik said as he tried to sit up but was ended up being shoved back down by Marik.  
  
"You're still weak," Marik reminded him.  
  
"I'm fine!" Malik assured him. "His room is just down the hall. We can then go out hunting so I can rebuild my strength."  
  
"No!" Marik angrily snapped and Malik shrunk back in fear. Never had Marik yelled at him like that. "I know about the blood sacrifice, Malik," Marik continued on more gently. "That's why those vampires were after you!"  
  
"Oh," was all that Malik said as he looked away.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your husband!" Marik demanded to know.  
  
"For a number of reasons," Malik softly admitted. "I didn't want to worry you for one, two I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try and free Zork and finally I knew you'd never allow me to do it."  
  
"Damn right!"  
  
"It was my choice! Atemu has done everything for us!"  
  
"Calm down!" Marik demanded as he handed Malik another goblet of blood. Malik took the goblet from him and stared down at the red liquid. "You had a sword stuck through you only a few hours ago. You need to relax!"  
  
"I volunteered for it, you know," Malik softly told him. "I was trying to find Isis and overheard what was going on. Atemu originally wanted Seto, Isis and Mahado but I convinced him to pick me instead of Isis. Then at the last minute he changed his mind from Mahado to Ryou because he figured that even if someone figured out how to break Zork's seal, they would naturally assume that Mahado was one of three and not Ryou."  
  
"You shouldn't have done that," Marik said with a sigh. "Isis is smart. She knows enough not to go looking for trouble like you always do."  
  
"I would die a thousand deaths to protect my sister," Malik firmly replied before finally taking a sip from the goblet. "And to protect you."  
  
"I don't need protection," Marik scoffed, taking back the goblet from Malik and gulped down the rest of the blood. He figured that if Malik wasn't going to drink it he might as well.  
  
"I know and you take such good care of me. I like taking care of you for a change."  
  
"So who all knew about this?" Marik asked. "Because someone found out. I heard that Mana knew. I can't see her betraying Atemu but how did she find out?"  
  
"Atemu tells her everything, you know that," Malik replied with a shrug. "They grew up together and he completely trusts her."  
  
"And about the others?"  
  
"Why do you ask?" Malik wondered.  
  
"Because I think we have a traitor among us," Marik told him. "I don't think it was an accident that Atemu went missing. And someone knew that you, Ryou and Seto are the three needed to release Zork."  
  
"Well its not me, Ryou or Seto since none of us are exactly looking forward to dying. Isis is also a negative, I'm all she has!"  
  
"Plus Isis was with me the entire day," Marik told him before growling and throwing the goblet against a wall in frustration. "I'm going to murder whoever is after you with my bare hands!"  
  
"You are the one that has to relax now," Malik said with a small smile on his face before getting back down to business. "So Isis is definitely out. It's not Mahado since he's just as loyal to Atemu as Mana. That's it."  
  
"That can't be it," Marik sighed. "None of those would be traitors."  
  
"Wait a sec, I just remembered something," Malik as he thought back to that day two years ago. "When I was looking for Isis, I saw Akunadin lurking around the halls for some reason. He's the one who told me Isis was with Atemu. He could have overheard everything!"  
  
"I knew that old man was always up to no good!" Marik hissed as stood up and stormed out of the room with Malik hot on his heels.  
  
"Where are you going?!" Malik cried as Marik stormed over to the door to Seto's room and pounded on the door. A series of curses rang from Marik's mouth when no one answered the door. "It's night! Of course he'd be out!"  
  
"No one has seen Seto since this afternoon!" Marik informed him as he then tried both Isis and Mahado's doors but they too were gone. Finally he tried Bakura and Ryou's door, which was answered by a naked Bakura.  
  
"What?" an annoyed Bakura snapped. Marik could see on the bed behind the white-haired vampire was Ryou, who was also naked but he was half covered by the bed sheets.  
  
"It's Akunadin!" Marik cried. "He knew about the three sacrifices and Atemu trusts him enough that he would let his guard down around him!"  
  
"Are you sure?" Bakura asked and Marik nodded his head. "That fucker! And he tried putting the blame on me!"  
  
"Get dressed," Marik ordered but Bakura was already pulling on his pants. "We need to search the palace and find Akunadin."  
  
"Where are the others?" Bakura asked as he threw on a t-shirt. Ryou was also now fully dressed.  
  
"Not here," Marik grumbled as tried Mana's room. Fortunately the spunky girl was in.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked. Normally Marik left her completely alone.  
  
"Bakura and I are going traitor hunting," Marik quickly explained. "Find Kisara and get her to take Seto's human to Atemu's and Yugi's room. Get them to lock the door and tell them that whatever they do, they do not unlock it for Akunadin or any strange vampire he might have let in. I need you to then use your telepathic powers to contact Isis, Mahado and Seto."  
  
"All three?!" Mana cried and Marik nodded his head. "Fine. What about the other humans?"  
  
"This doesn't concern them," Marik replied. "As far as we know, Akunadin doesn't even know they're here."  
  
"Wait a sec! You mean Akunadin is the traitor?!"  
  
"Yes!" Bakura yelled at her. "Now get going!"  
  
Mana scurried off to find Kisara and Mokuba, while both Bakura and Marik turned to their lovers. "Both of you need to go to Atemu's room as well."  
  
"But-" Malik started to protest but Marik cut him off.  
  
"No buts! It isn't safe right now for you two when we have no clue where Akunadin is! Even though Atemu can't remember anything he still has the skills to protect the two of you!"  
  
"Be careful," Ryou said to Bakura before quickly kissing him. Ryou then ran off down the hall to Atemu and Yugi's room and pounded on the door. A tired Yugi opened the door and Ryou shoved his way inside. Bakura could tell that Ryou was explaining everything to Yugi before he disappeared from sight.  
  
"Malik, go!" Marik commanded.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Malik, I almost lost you once tonight and I'm not going to let that happen again!" Marik yelled and tears started to fall from Malik's eyes before Malik hurried down the hall towards Yugi who was waiting for him.  
  
"Come on, let's go," Bakura said to Marik and the pair hurried off to find Akunadin.

* * *

"You better come out Siegfried, I know you're here!" Seto yelled into the dark and empty park.  
  
"I see you've finally made it Seto," Siegfried called back as he walked forward to where Seto could see him.  
  
"How did you know about Atemu?" Seto demanded as he began circling Siegfried.  
  
"Rumors?" Siegfried replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Such news like that of a missing Pharaoh would travel fast."  
  
"No one knew except those to live at the palace!" Seto snapped as he continued to circle Siegfried.  
  
"Such an old palace is bound to have leaks."  
  
"And just who is the leak?"  
  
"My secret," Siegfried replied with a smirk.  
  
"Tell me and I might let you leave this park alive," Seto told him as he finally stopped in front of the pink-haired vampire.  
  
"Seto, Seto!" Siegfried laughed. "It's not nice to threatened people. Especially to such an old friend as myself."  
  
"You were never my friend!" Seto snapped. "You were a business rival who was always jealous of the success I had with Kaiba Corporation! Then you found out my little secret so once again you got jealous and found a pathetic vampire to turn you into one."  
  
"Once again you are wrong. The Dark Priest is not a pathetic vampire but an extremely powerful one," Siegfried replied with a laugh. "In exchange for turning me, I gave the Dark Priest some very important information concerning you."  
  
"Like what?" Seto asked with a frown upon his face.  
  
"Like the fact that you were alive and you'd do anything for Mokuba," Siegfried said with a small sigh. "That was just the thing the Dark Priest need to convince you to come back into our world."  
  
"Akunadin!" Seto spat putting two and two together. He should have realized something was up two years ago when he had been forced back to palace, which was around the same time that Siegfried became a vampire. "Why would Akunadin betray us and try to release Zork?! He was the one who blackmailed me to come back in the first place to help defeat Zork!"  
  
"Because no one realized that Seto Kaiba was the great Priest Seto!" Siegfried told him pulling a move from all the James Bond movies by having a villain reveal all information to the hero. "Everyone, even the great Lord Zork, thought you were dead, which was why he wasn't targeting you. Akunadin thought that no one would believe him that you were alive so he blackmailed you into returning so that you'd now become a target for Zork to kill. But then that bastard betrayed Lord Zork and we had all underestimated how powerful you remained after so many years of being out of the game."  
  
"Ahh but my power was weakened because I was not training for so long," said Seto. "I assure you, I'm now back to my full power."  
  
"It doesn't matter, without your precious Pharaoh, no one will be able to defeat Lord Zork," Siegfried replied with a smirk. "Such a pity you won't be around to see Lord Zork return to power but alas we all know that you have to be sacrificed along with Ishtar and that little wimp Ryou."  
  
"Who is '_we'_? And what have you done with Atemu?!" Seto demanded.  
  
"We are myself, Akunadin and Dartz, who I believe you know as well."  
  
"Of course!" Seto snapped. Dartz was a long time follower of Zork but always had his own lackeys to do his dirty work, which was how he survived for so long. "I should have figured he was involved somewhere. But tell me! What did you do with Atemu?!"  
  
"What didn't we do?" Siegfried replied with a smirk. "I suggest you start looking in the entire ocean. Perhaps along the bottom, since those chains we tied him up with were pretty heavy."  
  
Seto lunged at Siegfried, the attack caught Siegfried by surprise as Seto had a reputation of keeping his cool under pressure. Seto landed directly on Siegfried who fell backwards to the ground, landing hard on his back. Seto then started choking Siegfried while he bared his fangs and bit down into the other vampire's neck. Siegfried struggled under Seto's weight as he tried to throw the vampire off of him, but Seto was not going anywhere as he drained Siegfried's blood. When Siegfried had finally stopped moving, Seto lifted himself up, sat back on his heels and pulled a golden dagger out from his trench coat. He then plunged the dagger through Siegfried's heart, making sure he was dead.  
  
_Seto!_  
  
Seto was startled when he heard the voice in his head as they so rarely used telepathy to communicate with each other. He, however, recognized Mana's voice instantly and knew that there must be trouble if she was contacting him.  
  
_Mana! Be careful! Akunadin is a traitor! He helped them kill Atemu and is trying to free Zork!  
  
We know! We need you back here now! Isis and Mahado are both out! Marik and Bakura are tearing apart the palace trying to find him!  
  
I'm coming!_  
  
Seto cut off the link with Mana and started running in the direction of the palace. Flying would get him there faster but he already had a headache from talking to Mana and he knew he would need his strength when he arrived. Therefore he ran, all while praying to the old Egyptian Gods he had known about so well when he was a priest of the Pharaoh of Egypt, that Mokuba would be safe.

* * *

Mana gritted her teeth in pain as Seto cut off their communication link. After finding Kisara and Mokuba, she had sent the pair to Atemu's and Yugi's room before retreating back to her own room so that she could contact Seto, Isis and Mahado in peace. Seto had been the first one she had tried since he had been missing most of the day and they had no clue whether he was okay or not. Fortunately he had been fine and now it was Isis' turn.  
  
_Isis?  
  
Mana? What's wrong?_  
  
Isis' voice came loud and clear in Mana's mind but Mana herself was having trouble sending back words, worn out telepathically contacting someone for the second time in a row, and had to resort to not speaking in full sentences.  
  
_Akunadin! Traitor! Seto on way back! Need to contact Mahado!  
  
Mahado is with me. We're coming back right now Mana!  
_  
Mana clutched her head in pain as her link with Isis was shut down. Stumbling to her feet, Mana opened her door and took a peak out into the hallway to see if the way was clear. Seeing that it was, Mana hurried down the hall to Atemu's room and pounded on the door, a few seconds later Kisara let her in.  
  
"They're coming," she told them. "Isis, Mahado and Seto. I don't know how long it will be until they get here though."  
  
"Ni-sama is all right?!" Mokuba happily cried and Mana nodded her head.  
  
"We should be out helping them," Malik argued. "That's my husband out there!"  
  
"Bakura is out there as well," Ryou gently told the blonde vampire. "But I know we need to stay here. Who knows how many vampires Akunadin has convinced to join him."  
  
"Remember, Akunadin thinks that Ouji is dead," Mana reminded them. "He has no reason to prepare an attack tonight, since as far as he knows, Ryou is the only one left that is needed for the blood sacrifice. He'll be sneaky about it, since he doesn't know that we know about him."  
  
"This is all my fault," Yami sadly muttered. "I can't remember anything and all of you are in danger because of me."  
  
"Don't talk like that!" Yugi begged him as he wrapped an arm around Yami's waist. Both of them were sitting on their bed, Mokuba and Kisara were sitting on the floor and the others were standing around with Malik pacing back and forth. "This isn't your fault! Akunadin has been loyal to you for years! We would all gladly die for you!"  
  
"Yugi's right," Ryou said. "I would have been dead long ago if it wasn't for you. I never asked to be turn and had no idea what to do. As for Bakura, you were the only one besides me to trust him when he first said he wanted to change sides and help us defeat Zork."  
  
"Same here," Malik added. "I had no where to go after my father kicked me out of my home and Marik was not yet strong enough to survive during the day or to protect me. You took us both in and gave us a home."  
  
"When Seto-sama disappeared for all those years and everyone thought he was dead, you allowed me to stay and serve you," Kisara told him, speaking quietly. "Then when Seto-sama returned you had no problem in letting me return to his side."  
  
"We grew up together!" Mana cried as she flopped down on the bed next to him, feeling a lot better. "Even though no one knew we were vampires, you still didn't have a lot of friends since you were the son of the Pharaoh and so much was expected from you!"  
  
"And you already told me you remember a little bit about what happened to me," Yugi reminded his love. "About how you found me, near death because some idiot who had been out after dark without a pass ran me over with his car trying to get home before a vampire got him. And how you took me back here and personally cared for me until you realized that that there was no hope for me to continue my life as a human."  
  
"Yes, I remember that," Yami admitted. He remembered being out hunting that night three months ago when he spotted a young human that interested him since they looked so much alike. Not being able to make himself make a snack out of the beautiful human, Yami had continued on his way when suddenly he heard a sound of a car and then a thud behind him. Spinning back around, Yami watched as a car sped away and then he noticed a bloodily body lying on the side of the road. To Yami's horror he recognized the familiar spiky hairstyle. Rushing over to the body, Yami quickly saw that the boy was still breathing, so he lifted him up into his arms and quickly flew back to the palace knowing that the medical experts there were a lot better then at any hospital. For two days, he kept a watchful eye over the boy, who he learned was called Yugi, but the injuries Yugi suffered were far too great. Unfortunately for Yami he had fallen in love with Yugi during the short two days they spent together and after a long debate with himself, Yami decided to turn Yugi, praying to the Goddess Isis that Yugi would not be horrified with the vampire Pharaoh when he woke up. When Yugi finally opened his eyes after being turned, he had instantly fallen in love with Yami.  
  
"We're all in this together," Mana told him all. "We're all dead if Akunadin is not stopped because Zork will rise again." Everyone in the room except for Yugi, Yami and Mokuba gave a small shudder at the thought of Zork returning. Zork had always been power hungry which was why he wanted to become a vampire in the first place. At first he allied himself with Atemu but ever so quickly his desire for power increased and had soon started plotting to over throw the Pharaoh. Many vampires joined Zork's side as he wanted a world without humans, since he believed that vampires were a superior race and deserved control of the world. After a nasty war, Zork was defeated and banished to forever remain trapped inside of his palace. With the threat of Zork over, Atemu decided that vampires should make a new start in Japan so the majority of vampires moved there and they took over the country leaving the humans, who now knew about them thanks to Zork, the rest of the world. 3000 years later Zork escaped thanks to the aid of Bakura, who proved to be quite useful as a thief. Wanting revenge, Zork followed the vampires to Japan to hunt down Atemu and another war took place, which ended when Zork was sealed away. That had only been two years ago and any vampire who was around back then feared what could happen if Zork once again returned.  
  
A swift knock to the door, brought everyone out of their thoughts. "Who is it?" Mana called as she stood and walked over to the locked door.  
  
"Akunadin," came the reply causing everyone in the room to freeze. "I found a shocking discovery and now can't seem to find anyone, but I knew you'd be looking after Yugi who is so devastated after the lost of Atemu."  
  
With a scared and panicked look, Mana stared at everyone else in the room, wondering what they were going to do.

* * *

_A/N - I felt bad for killing Amelda in the last chapter (eventhough I don't like him) so that is why I brought him back althought he won't be appearing in the story again until the sequel. When I selected five vampires to attack Malik in the last chapter I used a random number it wasn't until later when I realized that during the Doom arc you see five main members of Dartz's group (that is why Mai is suddenly a vampire and is suddenly evil). Unfortunately I could not remember the name of the first guy that dueled Yugi in Domino right at the beginning of the arc and I'm currently missing a lot of my Doom episodes so I couldn't check. That's why I used Keith as the fifth member even though I know it's inaccurate._

_Destiny - I was originally going to use Bakura but I ended up changing it to Ryou since I really didn't have much for him to do._

_Maruken - Bakura and Yami have a love/hate relationship in this story because I can't make Bakura into a complete goody-goody, lol._

_SilverWing147 - Thank you._

_Duenna - Thanks._

_December jewel - Thank you as well._

_yaminakathy - Thank you very much!_

_Chelsea - Thank you for your review! I agree with you about Pegasus, which is why he won't be appearing in this story. Perhaps in a prequel he will appear using your idea of starting out as a villian and then defects because I like that idea. I tried keeping the characterization accurate and usually if its wrong its wrong for a reason (for example Jou who was acting OOC because of Yugi's death and with Kaiba who is supposed to be more like Priest Seto then Seto Kaiba). I've also tried not to bash anyone since too much bashing happens in stories, I think. I acutally hate Anzu and Honda but so far they've been fairly main characters. The biggest person I had trouble with not to bash was Siegfried but I figured a little bashing there was okay since he's supposed to be a villian._


End file.
